Monday, April 26, 2010

a quilt-a-long

I joined my first quilt along!!
The hexagon quilt-a-long is being hosted by the very talented and inspiringjaybird quilts....I just knew that I had to have one of these quilts to call my own, once I sawjoan's (it literally made my jaw drop).

It only took me about two minutes to decide on using Joel Dewberry's fabric line: modern meadow. Instead of cutting into the pieces from this line that I already have stashed, I decided to order a jelly roll (my first one of those too).

I received the jelly roll at the end of last week and this morning I got to work. It didn't take long for me to pair, sew and press the strips together...but have yet to be sure the convenience of having purchased the fabric this way was worth it.

Most of the two inch strips were cut very crooked and a few even had little divots cut into the corners where the fabric was folded. I am not sure how much of this will affect the outcome of my hexagons, but it makes me really nervous since the points really do need to match up in this particular design.

Now I'm just waiting for the super cool 60 degree triangle ruler that I ordered to arrive and I will be ready for the next step!!

This quilt is going to be gorgeous! I know what you mean about pre-cuts. Were your strips on-grain but printed crooked, or cut off grain? I don't think it'll affect your accuracy, but when in doubt, starch works wonders!

Oh, thanks for the lovely compliment :). I think your Modern Meadow fabrics are going to be fabulous!

I, too, have had some issues with jelly rolls and roll-ups, though I have only used them a few times. I purchased a roll from an Etsy shop and when I went to use it months later, there were those nasty little bends in the strip where the fabric had been folded. I can do better than that myself. And I had difficulties when combining a strip of fabrics with the pinked edges with straight strips. I wasn't sure what my point of reference was for lining them up. The points, the valleys? I measured the width and 2-1/2 inches was somewhere in the middle of the peaks and valleys, making it difficult to line up accurately. At least for me.